Belmont Sprint Championship rematches Mind Your Biscuits, Unified
ELMONT, N.Y. – Mind Your Biscuits, the winner of the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in March, and Unified, who beat Mind Your Biscuits in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship in February, head a seven-horse field entered for Saturday’s Grade 2, $350,000 Belmont Sprint Championship.
The Belmont Sprint Championship, run at seven furlongs, is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, run at six furlongs on Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
Trainer Chad Summers has targeted the Belmont Sprint Championship for Mind Your Biscuits since the horse’s Dubai victory. Mind Your Biscuits was given a month off from training but has had several sharp workouts leading up to this race.
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“This time, we want to make sure we’re not a neck short, we’re a neck ahead,” said Summers, referring to Mind Your Biscuits’s margin of defeat to Unified in the Gulfstream Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Mind Your Biscuits drew post 2 and will be ridden by Joel Rosario.
Unified was beaten a neck by Green Gratto in the Grade 1 Carter at Aqueduct in April. Green Gratto used the inside post to his benefit that day, while Unified conceded the lead from his outside draw. On Saturday, Green Gratto is in post 6 and Unified in post 7.
In a work that suggests that Unified could be headed to the lead on Saturday, trainer Jimmy Jerkens blew the colt out three furlongs in 35.02 seconds Wednesday over the Belmont training track. Last week, Unified worked a strong five furlongs in 1:00.27 over the main track.
Irad Ortiz Jr. is on Green Gratto, while Jose Ortiz rides Unified. Stallwalkin’ Dude drew the rail, and outside of Mind Your Biscuits and inside of Green Gratto are Fellowship, Tommy Macho, and Awesome Slew.